5 Dos and Donts for Recruiting Using Social Media

Unless you’ve happened to read our recent white paper (and if you haven’t, you should. It’s free!), you probably haven’t read much here about recruiting using social media. Because short of our white paper, we haven’t done too much writing about it on our blog.

But social media is an extraordinarily powerful tool for recruiting. And considering the fact that we’re here to tell you how to kick ass at social media, it’s about time that we spent a few minutes telling you what you should and shouldn’t do concerning recruiting using social media.

Without further ado, here’s our list:

Do use multiple platforms. Good recruiting is about reaching your target audience–just like it’s always been. So think about how you may look if you limit yourself to one platform. Instead, use as many as are applicable. For example: post your original job on your company website, then advertise it on LinkedIn, and even through Twitter. The more platforms, the better.

Do be calculated. Social media isn’t new–at least, the principles it pushes aren’t. You still have to be calculated about what you do. Don’t just get onto social media without a plan and expect everything to work, as chances are you’ll do more harm than good. Instead, be sure about what you want and who you’re trying to reach, and then start your social campaigns. You’ll be much better off.

Don’t expect to reach everyone at once. No matter how many platforms you decide to use, you won’t reach everyone at once. Pushing a job for a new entry-level marketing position? Don’t expect to recruit a CEO at the same time. Focus your efforts on what matters most.

Do engage. Making a job posting and then sitting on it won’t do anything for you. Social media recruiting is as much about self-promotion as it is about actually getting the job out there, so do everything you can to interact with anyone whom you think might be interested in the position. If you do your part, recruits will start coming to you. But that all starts with interaction.

Don’t expect miracles. We’ve said it before, and we’ll probably say it again: social media is nothing new. It’s a bigger, stronger method of communication, but it hasn’t suddenly turned on and fundamentally changed the rules of interaction. So like recruiting before social media, you have to put in the work and actually have a plan for your efforts to matter. Don’t expect miracles–you’ll just be disappointed.

While the above list isn’t exactly a step-by-step guide on how to recruit using social media (there’s our white paper and a few other blogs for a better picture), it will get you started on the right track to stronger recruiting. For whatever reason, companies today are having a lot of trouble finding qualified candidates to fill their positions, and that means lost money.

Staying on top and using every tool at your disposal will help ensure you don’t fall by the wayside when it comes to recruiting the best talent possible to come through your doors. And considering how quickly social media recruiting is on the rise, not getting on board now really means shooting yourself in the foot.